Kevin Ollie
Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972)1 is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the University of Connecticut men's basketball team. Ollie graduated from Connecticut in 1995 with a degree in Communications.2 He played for twelve National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises in thirteen seasons from 1997 to 2010 after beginning his career with the CBA in 1995. In 2014, Ollie won a national championship as head coach of the University of Connecticut Men's Basketball Team. Basketball careeredit Ollie attended and played basketball at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California.3 He then starred for four seasons (1991–95) at the University of Connecticut. After his college playing days were over, he joined the Connecticut Pride of the Continental Basketball Association, playing with them from 1995 to 1997. After that, he began playing in the NBA. In the 2005–06 season, Ollie was given a starting role by Sixers head coach Maurice Cheeks. The Minnesota Timberwolves made Ollie their captain during the 2008–09 season. He was then signed by the Oklahoma City Thunder on August 1, 2009 for the veteran's minimum. After the season Ollie retired to join the Connecticut Huskies as an assistant coach.4 NBA player Kevin Durant in an interview with Grantland said that Kevin Ollie (who played for Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009-2010) "taught him the ropes", and "changed the culture of Oklahoma City". He also said, “Kevin Ollie, he was a game changer for us. I think he changed the whole culture in Oklahoma City. Just his mind set, professionalism, every single day. And we all watched that, and we all wanted to be like that. It rubbed off on Russell Westbrook, myself, Jeff Green, James Harden. And then everybody who comes through now, it’s the standard that you’ve got to live up to as a Thunder player. And it all started with Kevin Ollie.” Ollie had previously played a similar role with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jim Paxson, Cavaliers GM at the time, recalled his motivation for signing Ollie: "We thought he could come in and be a bridge for us at the point guard position," Paxson recalled, "and also be a good influence on our younger players, the primary one being LeBron James." Paxson cited Ollie's "professionalism and approach to the game" as qualities the team valued. 5 Coaching careeredit In 2012, Ollie was named the head basketball coach at Connecticut, replacing longtime hall of fame coach Jim Calhoun. During his college career, Ollie had played under Calhoun. He also served as an assistant coach for Calhoun's final two seasons at UConn.6 As an assistant coach in 2011, Ollie helped the Huskies to a record 11 straight postseason wins which included winning 5 games in 5 nights to win the Big East Tournament Championship and winning the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. On December 29, 2012, UConn and Ollie agreed to a five-year deal. The Huskies ended their first season under Ollie 20-10 overall and 8th in Big East play (10-8). UConn ended their season ranked as high as 21st in the country.needed The team was ineligible for postseason play because of an NCAA ban resulting from a low APR score several seasons prior.7 On December 2, 2013 the Huskies defeated Florida, after which they were ranked #9.needed On February 15th, Ollie earned his 40th career win, which was the Huskies' 20th win of the season. The Huskies finished 3rd in the AAC, and defeated Memphis and Cincinnati until losing to Louisville in the AAC Championship game. A quote that will go down in the history of the AAC Championship run was said after the semi-final game, "I told my team the best place to plant seeds is in the Garden", referring to Madison Square Garden (MSG). Connecticut earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament with a #7 seed, and defeated #10 seeded Saint Joseph's, #2 seeded Villanova, #3 seeded Iowa State, and #4 seeded Michigan State to become the first #7 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded in 1985. On April 5th, 2014, the Huskies defeated top-ranked Florida in the First Final Four national semifinal of the NCAA Tournament 63-53. The Huskies then defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 in the championship game on April 7th for Connecticut's fourth NCAA men's championship in fifteen years. Personal lifeedit Kevin Ollie is a Christian. During his NBA career, Ollie was actively involved with the FCA. Ollie's FCA chaplain stated, "There are very few guys in the NBA who are really sold out to the Lord like Kevin." 8 He grew up in South Los Angeles. NBA career statisticsedit Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high Regular seasonedit Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1997–98 Dallas 16 0 13.4 .333 .000 .720 1.3 2.0 .4 .0 2.9 1997–98 Orlando 19 0 11.4 .411 .000 .689 .9 1.7 .4 .0 4.1 1998–99 Sacramento 7 0 9.7 .308 .000 .800 .9 .4 .4 .1 1.7 1998–99 Orlando 1 0 4.0 .000 .000 .500 1.0 .0 .0 .0 1.0 1999–00 Philadelphia 40 0 7.3 .449 .000 .757 .8 1.2 .3 .0 1.8 2000–01 New Jersey 19 0 8.5 .185 .000 .632 1.2 1.3 .3 .0 1.2 2000–01 Philadelphia 51 4 15.0 .430 .333 .729 1.4 2.4 .5 .0 3.8 2001–02 Chicago 52 17 22.0 .383 .500 .838 2.5 3.7 .7 .0 5.8 2001–02 Indiana 29 0 19.9 .400 .000 .804 1.9 3.4 .9 .0 5.4 2002–03 Milwaukee 53 4 21.3 .459 .200 .747 1.9 3.4 .7 .1 5.7 2002–03 Seattle 29 1 26.6 .441 1.000 .759 2.9 3.8 1.1 .0 8.0 2003–04 Cleveland 82 7 17.1 .370 .444 .835 2.1 2.9 .6 .1 4.2 2004–05 Philadelphia 26 0 6.1 .355 .000 .667 .7 .7 .2 .0 1.1 2005–06 Philadelphia 70 23 15.3 .431 .333 .837 1.4 1.4 .5 .0 2.7 2006–07 Philadelphia 53 23 17.3 .433 .100 .822 1.4 2.5 .4 .0 3.8 2007–08 Philadelphia 40 0 7.5 .420 .000 .800 .5 1.0 .3 .0 1.8 2008–09 Minnesota 50 21 17.0 .407 .000 .833 1.5 2.3 .4 .1 4.0 2009–10 Oklahoma City 25 0 10.5 .400 .000 1.000 1.0 0.8 .4 .0 1.8 Career 662 100 15.6 .410 .310 .792 1.5 2.3 .5 .0 3.8 Playoffsedit Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 2000 Philadelphia 10 0 6.5 .500 .000 .889 .5 1.2 .2 .0 2.0 2001 Philadelphia 23 0 5.3 .370 .000 .929 .4 1.0 .0 .0 1.4 2002 Indiana 5 0 23.6 .423 .500 1.000 2.4 4.6 .6 .0 5.8 2008 Philadelphia 3 0 6.3 .250 .000 1.000 .3 1.0 .7 .0 1.3 2010 Oklahoma City 1 0 5.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 Career 42 0 7.9 .406 .500 .935 .7 1.5 .2 .0 2.1 Head coaching recordedit Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason Connecticut Huskies (Big East Conference) (2012–2013) 2012–13 Connecticut 20–10 10–8 T–7th Ineligible Connecticut Huskies (American Athletic Conference) (2013–present) 2013–14 Connecticut 32–8 12–6 T–3rd NCAA Champions Connecticut: 52–18 (.743) 22–14 (.611) Total: 52–18 (.743) National champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion